Click here for previous review of Pacifica (April 27).
The MIGF menu here costs RM 295++ without wine _ pricey but justifiable.
Wholesome warm bread with fresh tuna, Echire butter & passionfruit butter.
Amuse bouche: prawn tomato crostini, carrot vanilla confit, ginger mousse.
Poached lobster in lobster oil, avocado, apple and cucumber salsa. The lobster was impeccable, but we had mixed feelings about the salsa, which tasted weirdly like grass!
Brown butter salmon, beetroot hazelnut salad, cardamom, pineapple and liquorice reduction. Another offbeat recipe, though this one worked. The beetroot hazelnut salad tasted like Ferrero Rocher chocolate, but blended magnificently with the succulent salmon.
Monkfish with truffled fava bean cassoulet, red onion and Madeira broth. Not bad, but not really memorable. We're still learning how to recognize monkfish, but we like it so far.
Scallop raviolo, sauce vierge, sea beans and broccolini. The raviolo was stuffed with sensationally soft scallop mousse that turned this into the best kind of comfort food.
Lamb loin and confit 'gremolata' potato gratin dauphinois and baked garlic. We weren't craving any meat in our meal, but this was a real carnivore's delight. Tender, flavourful lamb, which proved that this restaurant's meat dishes are as brilliant as its seafood.
Fondue of Epoisse with spiced peach, chanterelles and lemon verbena. Cheese-lovers will relish this complex spread, while others should stay away.
Albaco ganache & candied apples on olive oil sponge & apple sorbet. The sole letdown on their MIGF menu, partly because the sponge cake was all dried out.
Complimentary chocolates, pralines and macarons. No complaints here.
We also ordered items from the regular a la carte menu. The Australian swordfish crudos with truffle jus and black olive oil tasted as fresh as possible.
Oyster soup, romaine lettuce & nicola fondant potato. Creamy & piping-hot.
Orvieto Classico D.O.C. Ruffino, Umbria, Tuscany (Italy) and Sauvignon Blanc, Anakena, Rapel Valley (Chile).
Pacifica,
Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
